Strawberry, Guava Paste and Rosemary Shots

Batida is a Brazilian cocktail commonly made with fruit juice and some alcoholic beverage such as cachaça, vodka or rum. Batida translates as shake and refers to the way the drink is made just by quickly blending the ingredients. Batidinha or shot is the small version of batida and they are often served as a treat in the waiting area of grill houses (churrascarias) or large restaurants while customers are waiting for a table. Customers are welcome to have one or more as they please, which is good to stimulate one’s appetite. Many restaurants also have batidinhas on their menu, some of the common recipes have a type of fruit juice (e.g. cashew, passionfruit, grape or pineapple) mixed with condensed milk, cream and cachaça. Batidinha de Sonho de Valsa was a classic shot of the 80s made with a cashew and chocolate truffle blended with cream, ice cubes and cachaça. The coconut version of batidinha made with coconut milk, sugar (or condensed milk) and cachaça or vodka is another favourite.

Some Brazilians like to enjoy a shot before or while having a snack in a typical pub called boteco. Others like to make these mini-cocktails to offer to their guests as an appetiser before a home-cooked barbecue.

At the moment Tasmanian strawberries are in season and they taste delicious. Strawberries are a perfect match with the Brazilian guava paste so I decided to use both as essential ingredients to my batidinha recipe. The tastes of rosemary and vanilla also enhance the aroma of this drink in a very special way. In my first attempt I tried to make it using cachaça but for some reason this spirit and guava paste are not best mates. I changed to vodka and…oh wow, just try the recipe and you will understand what I am trying to express.

The rosemary flower season is reaching its end, but I took the picture of these shots a couple of weeks ago when the flowers were blossoming in my garden. I couldn’t resist and picked some to garnish my little shots. They are edible and have a wonderful lavender colour that contrasts very well with the red drink. If you don’t have rosemary flowers handy, you can use other edible flower or no flower at all.

Take a peek at this close up picture of the super cute rosemary flowers:

Ingredients

½ cup (125ml) water

125g strawberries, hulled and chopped

90g guava paste*, chopped

1 rosemary sprig

½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped

70ml Vodka

Rosemary flowers or small edible flowers to garnish (optional)

*Guava paste is available from selected South American grocers or online

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan over high heat combine water, strawberries, guava paste, rosemary sprig and vanilla bean and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes or until guava paste is melted, stirring occasionally. Set aside to infuse the flavours and cool down.

2. Remove rosemary sprig and blend using a mixer or in the blender. Yields approximately 200ml of syrup.

3. Transfer the syrup to a jug, stir in the vodka and place in the freezer for some minutes to chill. Distribute amongst shot glasses and garnish with the flowers (if using). Serve immediately.

Serves: 5

http://www.aforkstale.com Katie Crenshaw

This looks incredible! Lovely photos! I will try this at my next dinner party! Cheers!

GeorginaRibas

Thanks so much Katie, please let me know if your party guests enjoy this one 😉